We were sitting at lunch when my friend’s eyes lit up. She had told us how she had found a picture that showed her and another friend in a club laughing in Cartagena during their trip over Christmas Break. This quickly activated a chain reaction, suddenly everyone at the table was reaching for their phones to be the next to share a memory.

In the 21st Century, digital is replacing the traditional: paperbacks turn into kindles, hand painted canvases turn into digitally drawn designs, photo albums become digital photos on our phones and computers. Photography today is better because of technology, cellphones make it easy to take photos when and where we want. However, that convenience means we take a lot more photos but just because so many pictures doensn’t mean they are any less valuble. While not every photo is a masterpiece, they all still capture important moments and memories. 

A recent New York Times article criticised the amount of photos we take has robbed them of their meaning. However photography is now an easy task, with our phones we capture precious moments with family and friends in a matter of seconds. This doesn’t mean that the moments are less substantial in our lives it just means that there has been a better chance to immortalize those moments. People complain about how nothing can ever truly be erased from the internet this is an advantage with digital pictures.

The amount of photos we take has a direct proportion to the amount of moments in life we want to remember. Taking a variation of pictures gives you a choice, which photo genuinely captured the moment. All other photos can be erased, making the chosen one even more meaningful. We take photos on Snapchat which are meant to share the moment you are having with people that aren’t there. There is a girl from another school that takes her professional camera to a parties and takes amazing pictures, those are meant to meaningful

Before digital photography, most photos were taken for a special occasion, people were dressed up had makeup on. Today because of digital photography we can get more candid shots. Some picture of me were taken when I was little. One shot is me smiling  unnaturally in the park, another is a picture taken of me unknowingly on the stairs, I am pouting and you can see the anger in my eyes. My connection to the second one is strong and its genuinity makes me smile every time I see it.

By being tangible printed pictures have a beauty digital picture lack however they compensate this with their spontaneity candidness and immortality, and communicative skills. The issue is not eliminating printed pictures, their worth just doesn’t take away from digital photos. Yes we take masses of photos but this does not take their meaningfulness by any means.